The EU HAP is a partnership of 4 stakeholders of the Humanitarian Sector represented by Academia (NOHA and 9 European Universities), Training Providers (RedR and Bioforce), Employers (Acción Contra el Hambre and Aktion Deutschland Hilft) and Employees (Humanitarian Professionals represented by the NOHA Alumni ). The partnership addresses the current needs of the humanitarian sector: a) increased demand for qualified and trained humanitarian professionals to respond to increasingly complex crises in a sector that employs around 250,000 workers disbursing nearly US$20 billion (2012); b) coordinated approaches to train people that can provide an effective humanitarian response, fulfilling the EU´S duties reflected in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid; c) clear progression routes for integrating competent professionals in the labour market; d) mechanisms for recognition and certification of competences in a sector characterized by international mobility and high turnover; and e) understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of the sector. The initiative aims to promote the exchange of best and innovative practices and improve the quality and efficiency of education in order to boost competences, increase employability and improve opportunities and professionalisation. More specifically, the project will a) establish clear linkages between occupations, skills/competences and qualifications in the sector; b) facilitate the validation and recognition of humanitarian qualifications, identify learning pathways from vocational and other education types in the humanitarian sector to higher education; c) improve access to humanitarian education through a variety of delivery modes and the development of Open Educational Resources; d) promote a transnational community of knowledge & practice by developing an interactive platform of Humanitarian Activity in Europe; e) establish a European Observatory of Humanitarian activity with recognised data collection laboratories in each member state. EU HAP counts with the profiles and expertise of its partners: ADH, a German umbrella organization gathering 21 prominent humanitarian NGOs; ACH, an active member of the international network of Action Contre le Faim International with longstanding expertise in training and research; RedR, a well-known training provider with a vast experience in short, tailor-made courses; and Bioforce, a vocational training centre running long-term training programmes. In addition to the 10+3 NOHA member universities, the partnership includes 9 universities representing a wide variety of European visions and realities. During the 3 year period, the following results will be achieved: ER1 Mapping of humanitarian action occupations and linkages with qualifications and career systems. Through various methodologies (ESCO, Europass, HAQF), links between occupations and sets of transversal & sector-specific skills/competences enabling the matching of supply and demand in the humanitarian labour market will be established. ER2 New and improved processes of recognition and validation of prior learning. A common understanding and clear guidelines on how to use the HAQF for recognition and validation of Prior Learning will be developed. ER3 Open Educational Resources for individual learning pathways in humanitarian action. The development of OER will support HA learners to determine their individual learning pathways based on their achieved learning outcomes and their ambitions for future humanitarian occupations. ER4 Observatory on European humanitarian activity and mapping potentialities in humanitarian education and training. The innovative approach of data collection is expected to create a transnational community of knowledge with ownership of results which in turn will strengthen partnerships in the humanitarian sector. For reaching the expected results various activities have been identified: a) Online Collaborative Sessions; b) Bilateral Consultations, with key relevant stakeholders; c) Transnational meetings aiming at disseminating lessons learnt, sharing knowledge and agreeing on specific content; d) Subcontracting of experts in various fields of expertise related to EQF and RPL; e) Multiplier events to reach a wider audience of stakeholders and create awareness among potential users of the final products. As HA is an international field and the organisations work at EU and international level, the project aspires to have an impact in Europe and globally. It is expected that humanitarian education will be strengthened to effectively respond to the challenge of employment by orientating learners directly to the labour market. Use of RPL tools in the humanitarian sector will increase synergies improving transition between the different education systems at various levels and contributing to the modernisation and internationalisation of higher education institutions and systems in partner countries and beyond.